This was a largely white, male study population in patients with early-stage HIV. Approximate baseline characteristics for the study included median age of 36 years, 85% male, 85% white and 10% African American. Median viral load and CD4 count were approximately 35,000 copies/mL and 360 cells/mm3 respectively. No figures for the range or IQR were provided for the median values. However, 28% of patients had baseline viral load >100,000 copies/mL and 12% had a CD4 count <200 cells/mm3. Approximately 2% and 10% were coinfected with hepatitis B and C respectively.

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Viral efficacy rates were 88% for dolutegravir and 85% for raltegravir, which, after adjusting for baseline viral load and NRTI, met the criteria for non-inferiority (difference 2.5%; 95% CI: -2.2% to 7.1%). Dolutegravir had a similarly rapid, or perhaps slightly faster, response compared to the already racy drop seen with raltegravir, with 70% of patients undetectable by week 4 and >80% by week 8.

Discontinuations were similar between the dolutegravir and raltegravir arms (11% vs 14%) and occured for similar reasons (4% vs 6% for lack of efficacy, 3% each for protocol violations, 2% each for side effects, and <1% vs 2% for each of loss to follow up and withdrawal of consent).

There were 7% of patients in each arm without 48-week data, with these discontinuations driven predominantly by reasons other than side effects.

Median CD4 counts increases were similarly close at weeks 8, 24 and 48: +88, +182 and +230 cells/mm3 in each arm.

There were slightly fewer patients with virological failure, defined as confirmed viral load >50 copies/mL at week 24 or after, in the dolutegravir arm (5% vs 7%; n=20 vs 28) with most (19/20) being between 50 and 400 copies/mL. Two patients in the raltegravir arm rebounded to 10-50,000 copies/mL and one to >100,000 copies/mL. One of these patients developed integrase inhibitor and NRTI mutations, with NRTI resistance only in three others. No mutations were detected in the dolutegravir arm.

Tolerability was good in both arms with low numbers of patients with grade 3 (n=2 vs 5) and grade 4 (n=2 vs 0) side effects. Serious adverse events occurred in 7% vs 8% (n=29 vs 31) but were only judged to be drug-related in 3 vs 5 patients. These included arrhythmia, hypersensitivity and hepatitis (dolutegravir) and convulsion (2), hypersensitivity/hepatitis, diarrhoea (raltegravir). Only 2% of patients in each arm discontinued due to side effects.

This article was provided by HIV i-Base. It is a part of the publication HIV Treatment Bulletin. Visit HIV i-Base's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.

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